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Sheriff: 6-year-old beat infant sister to death

August 11, 2016

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - The Pinellas County sheriff says a 6-year-old boy beat his baby sister to death while they, along with another sibling, were left alone in a locked van outside a cell phone store while their mother went inside.

Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the mother, Kathleen Steele, 62, had gone inside the cell phone store on Aug. 8 to have her broken phone repaired and left the three children in the van with the windows rolled up and the van turned off.

The sheriff said the 13-day-old-baby was crying in the van and 6-year-old Frankie slammed the baby on the ground and flipped her around. The baby, also named Kathleen, suffered severe injuries including a fractured skull, cuts, and bruising.

"The best way I can describe it is, he pummeled her," said Sheriff Gualtieri, who also said there was blood on the ceiling of the van.

The boy will not be charged, though the sheriff said the boy admitted to deputies that he caused the injuries and showed deputies how he did it.

"We decided not to charge him. But nonetheless, we have a 6-year-old who killed a 13-day-old," the sheriff said.

Steele did not immediately seek medical attention after the baby was injured, the sheriff said, and instead took the children to another store. A neighbor later called paramedics to Steele's home, where they performed CPR on the baby and transported her to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Sheriff Gualtieri said Steele's husband had died several years ago of cancer, but she had his sperm frozen and was artificially inseminated with her husband's sperm by a doctor in New York. Steele, who was pregnant with her 6-year-old son at the age of 55, was also on the reality show "Pregnant and...", Gualtieri said.

Three days after she gave birth to baby Kathleen, Gualtieri said there was an incident at a hotel where the baby fell out of a car carrier and was taken to the hospital with a brain bleed. Child Protective Services responded and determined later there was no evidence of abuse and that the incident at the hotel was accidental.

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“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ~ Anatole France

NORTH REDINGTON BEACH, FL — A 13-day-old baby girl is dead in what Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri has described as one of the worst cases he’s seen in his career. While authorities say the child’s 6-year-old brother admitted to the violent assault that caused the infant’s death on Monday, her 62-year-old mother is the one that faces criminal charges.

Gualtieri painted a picture of ongoing issues related to the North Redington Beach family during a Thursday press conference announcing the woman's arrest. The children’s mother, Kathleen Steele, reportedly lost her husband to cancer in 2011. Before his death, Steele’s husband had his sperm frozen. The 6-year-old boy, Gualtieri said, was born before his father’s death. His 3-year-old brother and newborn sister, also named Kathleen, were born through artificial insemination, the sheriff said.

The elder Kathleen traveled to New York City late last year to have a doctor perform the artificial insemination that resulted in the baby's birth, Gualtieri said. Since the child was born on July 26, the Florida Department of Children and Families and Pinellas County child investigators had several run-ins with the family, the sheriff added.

The first brush with authorities came on July 29 while the family was staying in a local hotel following an accidental fire at their home. A fire alarm happened to go off at the hotel, Gualtieri said. When it did, Kathleen Steele put baby Kathleen in her car carrier, but did not buckle her in. She then proceeded down the hotel stairs, but tripped. Baby Kathleen fell out of her carrier and struck her head, the sheriff’s said.

The child was taken to All Children’s Hospital with a minor brain bleed, the sheriff said. DCF and the sheriff's office responded and the case was investigated. No evidence of abuse was found, Gualtieri said.

Baby Kathleen went home on July 31, the sheriff said.

An appointment was scheduled for a home visit with child protection authorities on Aug. 1, but Kathleen Steele changed the date to Aug. 10, Gualtieri said.

DCF received a call about the family on Aug. 2. All three children, the caller reported, were being inadequately supervised. A child protection investigator responded to the home after the call, but found no evidence of neglect at that time, the sheriff said.

On Monday, Steele reportedly took the baby to a pediatrician’s office. Following that appointment, her 6-year-old son broke her cellphone. The family traveled to a local store to get the phone fixed. It was upon their return to the store to pick up the phone that the assault on baby Kathleen occurred, the sheriff said.

Kathleen Steele reportedly left the three children locked in her van outside the store for an estimated 30 minutes, Gualtieri said.

At some point, the 6-year-old removed baby Kathleen from her car seat and “began flipping her multiple times back and forth, slamming her head,” Gualtieri said. The baby’s skull was fractured in several places.

“(It’s) one of the worst things I’ve seen,” Gualtieri said.

Authorities say the boy told his mother there was a “serious” problem with the baby when she returned to the van. Gualtieri said the mother ignored the comment, proceeded to another store and then returned home.

Once inside the home, Kathleen Steele noticed something was wrong with the baby, Gualtieri said.

“The kid’s face was a mess,” he said. “She’d been pummeled … at that point (she was) blue.”

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Last edited by mykittysmama; 08-12-2016 at 01:48 AM.

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ~ Anatole France

A 13-day-old baby girl is dead. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says she was brutally pummeled and killed by her 6-year-old brother and now the 62-year-old mother is facing charges.

Kathleen Marie Steele of North Redington Beach has been charged with aggravated manslaughter and neglect for the infant's death.

On Monday, Steele left the baby, also named Kathleen, in a vehicle with her two siblings while she went into a cell phone repair store. While she was inside the store the infant started crying and that's when the 6-year-old boy snapped, Gualtieri said.

The 6-year-old brother picked up the baby and dropped her on the floor of the vehicle, then "slammed" her around the vehicle, the sheriff said.

The boy later admitted to investigators what he had done, said Gualtieri.

The sheriff says at just 13-days-old, the little girl was killed at the hands of her brother. The boy told investigators how he did it.

“I took the baby, and I slammed her like this, and slammed her down, and pushed her up into the ceiling. What he was talking about when he pushed her up into the ceiling, he was holding her up, then he said he was flipping her this way and flipping her that way and she would fall. The way he was describing it is he was tossing that baby around like a ragdoll,” says Sheriff Gualtieri.

Gualtieri said the baby's skull was cracked and probably died in the vehicle.

Steele left the children in the vehicle by themselves for more than a half hour, he said. After leaving the store, Steele drove to Enterprise Rent-A-Car and spent another half hour there before returning home, the sheriff said.

The sheriff says the mother is to blame. The boy told her about the baby's condition, yet she ran another errand, before returning home. She called a neighbor, who is a nurse, to help. The neighbor recognized the infant was dead, but called 911. The child was taken to St. Petersburg General Hospital, where she was officially declared dead.

Because of the child's age, the boy will not face criminal charges, Gualtieri said. Due to our crime guidelines, 10News will not identify the boy.

“The mistake is with Kathleen Steele, not a 6-year-old boy,” Sheriff Gualtieri says.

Back in 2010, Kathleen Steele appeared in a reality show “55 and Pregnant." The financial advisor and her husband had been awaiting their first son.

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“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ~ Anatole France